Blog Post
Download of the Day: December 31
by aadl staff
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
In this Austen favorite, two sisters with very different dispositions find their way through life and love.
Looking for more great things to download? Try going to our Downloads page for music, books, videos, podcasts, even patterns! And check out the Download of the Day for more great recommendations from AADL!
As Download of the Day draws to a close, we hope you enjoyed the lowdowns and found troves of downloads to read, knit, cook, listen to, watch, and enjoy! As always, thanks for playing!
Blog Post
Download of the Day: August 30
by aadl staff
Vanitas - 10:32
Discombobulating and unpredictable electronic jams.
Looking for more great things to download? Try going to our Downloads page for music, books, videos, podcasts, even patterns! And check out the Download of the Day every day for more great recommendations from AADL!
Want to find out about next week's Download of the Day TODAY? And get a whole heap of bonus DotD points in the process? Start playing the Lowdown of the Day! Follow the clues to figure out the item ahead of time. And the first find gets the most points, so move fast!
Blog Post
Friday 2/12 is the last day to submit your entry for the 3rd-5th Grade “Write On!” Short Story Contest!
by anthonyd
There's still time to check out the contest page and read the guidelines for details on how to submit your awesome story!
Email your completed story to youngwrite@aadl.org or drop it off at the Downtown Library Youth Desk (343 S. Fifth Ave) now through Friday February 12.
Need some last minute tips? Check out the following books:
Writer to Writer: from think to ink
How to Write About Your Adventure
In the words of C.S. Lewis, “You can make anything by writing!”
Blog Post
Wayne State University Press E-books Are Here!
by lucroe
We are extremely pleased to offer e-books from Wayne State University Press.
Library patrons can download these e-books (they are in PDF format) after logging in to our website. Enjoy titles such as Coney Detroit and, find out how Detroit became the coney hotdog capital of the world! Interested in Detroit music history, check out MC5: Sonically Speaking, A Revolution of Rock'n'Roll or Techno Rebels : The Renegades of Electronic Funk Or how about some Michigan history, specifically young women, try Great Girls in Michigan History or the automotive variety, Reuther Brothers : Walter, Roy, and Victor. Or how about a study on a tv show, like Doctor Who, Deadwood, or the Sopranos, to name a few.
There are more titles to choose from so check out the list here and start downloading today!
Blog Post
A Back to School Story Worth Watching
by oldnews
There's "back to school" and then there's Cody High and the Cody Rouge community comeback. Cody High: A Life Remodeled Project, an award-winning documentary that focuses on the efforts to remake Detroit's Cody High School and the blighted neighborhood surrounding it, is now available for online streaming through AADL.
Cody High students and their families, neighbors, and over 10,000 volunteers remodeled three schools, tore down three burned-out houses, remodeled 25 homes of students and their families, boarded up 254 vacant houses, and removed blight on 303 blocks of Detroit. The film follows struggles that are universal to all teenagers and unique to the Cody Rouge community, providing new perspectives on commitment and courage in a complex world.
Blog Post
New Downloadable Stories by Laura Pershin Raynor!
by manz
Local and national storyteller Laura Pershin Raynor tells stories for all ages – not just your favorite storytime tales.
New in the AADL catalog are two of her albums that are now available to listen to online as well as download – for free! These are stories for older children, teens and adults. So if you love listening to well told, funny tales of youth and bygone eras, look no further.
First up is Tough Cookies. This album features Cootie Shots, Yiddish Curses, Bleeding Madras, Tater Tots and International Intrigue that spices up the pot in this story brew about girls with pluck.
Summertime & The Livin' Is Easy features surprising summer stories about garage bands, mysterious celebrities and city slickers in the not so Wild West.
Beyond downloads, a couple other albums by Raynor are available for actual check out. Whether you're familiar with Laura's story magic or not, these are worth a listen.
Just learning about AADL's download collection?! Check out ALL the other music, book and pattern downloads available on aadl.org for free!
Blog Post
Now Available at AADL: Instant Streaming of 'The Michigan Beer Film' and Podcast of Ann Arbor Brewing History
by SaraP
Michigan craft beer has taken off in recent years, developing hoards of dedicated followers and providing some truly amazing beers to our local communities. In fact, the Michigan beer scene is experiencing rapid growth and what better way to explore this fascinating (and fun) local craft industry than with The Michigan Beer Film?! Produced by Rhino Media, a Kalamazoo based visual media production company with lots of talent, The Michigan Beer Film is a top-notch documentary about the beer that our great state is crafting and the people behind it.
AADL is proud to be partnering with Rhino Media to make this film available through instant stream directly from our catalog! Just click on this link or search the catalog, sign in to your library account (linked to your AADL library card), and – voila! – watch the movie. Watch it instantly online without worrying about setting up apps, or going through a third party. Easy!
And if that’s not enough, check out this podcast interview with local beer historian and author of “Ann Arbor Beer” David Bardallis. He discusses the history of brewing in Ann Arbor for a fresh and entertaining perspective on our town’s important role in the making of Michigan beer.
Blog Post
Amazon Teen Bestsellers: The Maze Runner
by annevm
The Kindle Edition of The Maze Runner, by James Dashner currently is #5 on Amazon’s Best Sellers in Teen and Young Adult Books. In the book, sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up in a maze with no memory. If he is to escape, he must work with his community. From Amazon: “Read the first book in the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent." The Maze Runner motion picture is due out in September.
Blog Post
HBO's True Detective Season Finale is Sunday - Still Time to Read The King in Yellow - NO SPOILERS!
by erin
True Detective is an American television anthology crime drama series on HBO. Season one stars Matthew McConaughey, and Woody Harrelson, and uses multiple timelines to trace two Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division homicide detectives' hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana across seventeen years.
If you've been watching HBO's hot, new series, you're probably obsessed with all of the various literary allusions and references. If you have delved into the fandom behind the show you definitely want to read The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers. The King in Yellow was originally published in 1895 and is now in the public domain. We uploaded a PDF copy to our catalog (from Project Gutenberg) so AADL cardholders can download and read it easily. Some unscrupulous types are taking advantage of the hype and printing the free PDF and charging people for a copy.
Even if you don't have an AADL card you can find free copies, in a variety of formats, of the book at Project Gutenberg.
For even more True Detective-related reads, check out this list.
Blog Post
New Podcast Series: Martin Bandyke Under Covers
by mariah
Many Ann Arborites recognize Martin Bandyke as the longtime morning drive host at ann arbor’s 107one, WQKL-FM, his home station since 2006. In addition to a friendly voice guiding locals through their a.m. soundtrack, Bandyke is also known for his delightfully format-free Fine Tuning program on Sundays. Readers of the Detroit Free Press may have enjoyed his periodic music coverage as well.
Prior to his tenure with 107one, listeners in Southeastern Michigan benefited from Bandyke's vast musical knowledge through his role at WDET-FM, Detroit - first as a host, and subsequently as Music Director from 1995-2005. His own passion for music began with his father Ted's love of records, evolved through his role as a gigging drummer, and led to working behind the counter as a musical matchmaker at Dearborn Music and Car City Records.
Although Bandyke's talent is no secret, many of the things he loves are found between covers - including both records and books. With this in mind, AADL is pleased to be partnering with Bandyke for a new series of podcasts, called Martin Bandyke Under Covers. These podcasts, hosted by Bandyke, evidence his knowledge of music and pop culture in interviews with a variety of authors, musicians and creators.
In the first Under Covers podcast, Bandyke chats with Ray Davies of the Kinks about his new memoir, Americana. The second episode features Bandyke in conversation with Vivek Tiwary about his graphic novel, The Fifth Beatle (a recent #1 on the New York Times best-sellers list), which traces the story of Brian Epstein, the Liverpool record shop owner who discovered and then managed the Beatles from 1961 until his untimely death in 1967.
These two episodes are just the beginning for Martin Bandyke Under Covers - stay tuned for more conversations and interviews with creative minds! If your interest in popular culture and media extends to film, we hope you'll join Bandyke with Michigan Theater director Russ Collins for an Academy Awards Preview event, Downtown on Wednesday, February 26, 7-8:30pm.